About The Author

My name is Catherine Morgan, I'm a writer, nurse, and mother. This is a blog about women's issues, health & wellness, inspirational thoughts, and other stuff too. If you like this blog, you will love BlogHer.com where I am also a contributing editor for Health & Wellness.
Find out all the places I blog at by going to catherine-morgan.com.

Archive for the ‘cooking’ Category

What if it was mixed in with your hamburger meat? Would you eat it then?

What if I told you it wasn’t your choice? What if it was already in the burgers you are eating?

Don’t shoot the messenger. Anyway, it’s not like they are just putting dog food into your burger, they are adding ammonia first to kill off the E. coli. Well that’s a relief. And if the USDA says it’s safe, it shouldn’t matter whether you know about it or not. Right?

I don’t know how I missed this – It was in the New York Times back in December…

Eight years ago, federal officials were struggling to remove potentially deadly E. coli from hamburgers when an entrepreneurial company from South Dakota came up with a novel idea: injecting beef with ammonia.

No worries though…The USDA says it’s a perfectly safe way to turn fatty slaughterhouse trimmings (once sold as dog food) into burgers from your favorite fast food joint, grocery chains, and even school lunches.

Yes, you heard right. Rather than make dog food out of this otherwise trash, it’s now being processed into food for you and me (and our kids). What are the poor dogs going to eat? And how long will it be before we are all eating that too?

And get this…The USDA has exempted this new beef product from its mandatory E. coli testing, based on studies done by the same company making millions selling this disgusting stuff.

What is your eating style? Do you follow one of the popular diet plans?

If you’re looking to eat healthy or lose weight in the new year, there are a lot of diet plans out there to choose from. But how do you know which plan is best for you? I’m not a fan of fad diets – Even when they work, they are often an unhealthy choice and any weight lost is usually quickly gained back. But there are diet plans geared towards healthy eating and healthy weight loss. Maybe you’re already following one.

In this post I thought we could take a look at some of the diet plans that also focus on healthy eating. Because, in the long run, changing unhealthy eating habits to healthy ones is the only way to lose weight and keep it off.

Eating healthy and trying to maintain a healthy weight are important for our overall well being. But there is now growing evidence that eating anti-inflammatory foods can reduce symptoms of chronic illness and even prevent heart disease.

This is a diet plan that just about everyone can benefit from. And although this is not a weight loss diet, many people do lose weight simply because they are replacing unhealthy foods with healthier anti-inflammatory foods. The best part is…Many people begin to see benefits (such as reduced pain) within just a few weeks.

Hope you’re enjoying your start to the week. I just wanted to draw everyone’s attention to Time Magazine’s very excellent cover article this week. It details the true cost–economic, medical, cultural, environmental–of mass-produced and processed food, and it’s worth reading and sending to your loved ones A.S.A.P. The article probably won’t tell you anything you didn’t learn from Food, Inc. or The Omnivore’s Dilemma, but it’s powerful, succinct, and uncompromising. Most importantly, it’s a huge sign of progress that major newsweeklies are spreading word about the true cost of cheaply produced, high-protein diets.

Do you have children that suffer with food allergies? It seems like food allergies are becoming more and more prevalent. Why is that? My personal opinion, is that it has something to do with how germ and bacteria free we’ve become as a society.

Last week was food allergy awareness week, so I thought I would use this post to look at food allergies and how some parents are coping.

Food allergy is an immune system reaction that occurs soon after eating a certain food. Even a tiny amount of the allergy-causing food can trigger signs and symptoms such as digestive problems, hives or swollen airways. In some people, a food allergy can cause severe symptoms or even a life-threatening reaction known as anaphylaxis.

Food allergy affects an estimated 6 to 8 percent of children under age 3, and about 4 percent of adults. While there’s no cure, some children outgrow their food allergy as they get older.

WASHINGTON, DC, May 14, 2009 – Today, as we continue to mark Food Allergy Awareness Week, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., member of the Board of Directors of the Food Allergy Initiative (FAI), announced the formation of FAI’s Advocacy Steering Committee. The committee’s objectives are to help build a strong nationwide presence for the food allergy community in the public policy arena; and to actively seek to increase federal funding of food allergy research, as scientists believe that with proper funding, a cure can be found in less than a decade.

The new steering committee comprises 16 leading parent advocates nationwide who confront the daily dangers of raising children with severe food allergies.

There is a lot of discussion about how schools are dealing with food allergies…

I don’t mean to get all Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, and I certainly am not trying to get into a “my child’s allergy is more severe than yours” discussion. It’s inappropriate, and it doesn’t matter. The school system should treat all food allergies as if they equally severe. It’s just safer that way. Besides, you never know which reaction is going to be the anaphylactic one, so it’s best just to avoid reactions altogether.

My children go to a “Nut Free” school which has changed to a “Nut Aware” school since the school cannot guarantee that it is “nut free”. So, more or less, no peanut butter sandwiches allowed–no vital protein (that doesn’t spoil) at lunch. There have been stories about lunch ladies taking Skittles away from children because they are made in factory that also makes M&M’s. We call the lunch ladies Peanut Nazis because they embarrassed and humiliate the children who bring in the Skittles too.

How does your school deal with food allergies? Are they doing enough? Could they be doing more?

As with everything in life, sometimes bad things can lead to something good…

Beth George’s story touched me and I think you will feel inspired too. Beth was unwilling to accept the host of diagnoses and psychotropic drugs doctors recommended to deal with her son’s unpredictable behavior. Instead, she was determined to figure out the cause. After years of struggling, she discovered that her son was allergic to a common wheat and certain artificial food additives. Once she removed these ingredients from her son’s diet, miraculously his symptoms disappeared. This inspired her to start a baking company, Spelt Right® Baking, that only uses organic, all natural materials with no artificial ingredients of any kind in their products.

I just received a press release from FAAN that made me smile! The organization has donated 1.1 million to food allergy research, including peanut allergy therapies and vaccines. I have high hopes for vaccines–more so than I do for immunotherapy studies like the small one just published from Duke University. This study has received a lot of media buzz but is still in its very early and experimental stages and has caused severe allergic reactions in human subjects. In fact, this experimental therapy isn’t currently recommended for those who have high IgE levels (that is, patients whose blood tests indicate they are at high risk of anaphylaxis) or who have ever had a severe reaction to peanut or tree nut. That leaves many of us out! Now, if this therapy has helped you personally, great. I’m just saying that for many it’s not even an option. That doesn’t sound like a “cure” to me.

Have you ever wondered how the foods we choose to eat each day effects our carbon footprint? You might be surprised to find out just how much it does.

But, do we all have to start growing our own food and become vegetarians to save our planet?

No. Even if we just make one or two changes in our eating and purchasing habits, we can each begin to make a positive impact on our environment. So…I’m going to give you several tips on little things we can all do to help us get on the path to greener eating.

Before we do that, lets take some time to address how our food choices are affecting our carbon footprint. Here is an interesting tool to help you calculate the carbon footprint of your diet…

Understanding why we overeat is an important step on the road to making healthy food choices. And for many of us, our unhealthy emotions are contributing to our unhealthy eating.

It’s called being an emotional eater. Are you one of them? I can admit…I am. I think if we are being honest with ourselves, we all do this to some degree. And in small doses, emotional eating isn’t so bad. But many of us have gone way beyond minor emotional eating. Many of us are using food to avoid dealing with our true feelings…and not only doesn’t it work, but it also compounds are troubles with feelings of guilt and anger toward ourselves.

So, would you make a “resolution” to make four lifestyle changes, if it would increase your life by 14 years? Better than a New Years Resolution, this would be a “Life Resolution”.

What are the four changes to a longer life?

1) Stop Smoking

2) Eat Five Servings of Fruits and Vegetables a Day

3) Exercise

4) Limit Alcohol Consumption

The lifestyle change with the biggest benefit was giving up smoking, which led to an 80 percent improvement in health, the study found. This was followed by eating fruits and vegetables. Moderate drinking and keeping active brought the same benefits…

Well, that seems pretty simple. While we’re on the subject, why not surf around for some other ways to live longer?

There are few things that cause you more stress and worry than your weight. If you gained a few pounds over the holidays, don’t panic…..yet. According to an article (reprinted below) about a study published last November, people who are a little overweight actually live longer.

New research following 500 older people for nearly a decade found quicker walkers were less likely to die. Nine years after initial gait speed was measured, 77 percent of slow walkers had died, compared to only 50 percent of medium speed and 27 percent of fast walkers.

As our population ages, our society is finally recognizing that old age is a gift. Despite some of the negative images in the media, it really is possible to embrace our elderhood as a creative and spiritual journey.

People who have aged successfully share common characteristics.

There is no question that most of our lifestyle choices are what will determine whether we age in good physical and mental health or fall prey to sickness and disability. Although it may be a cliché, moderation is the key in everything. By practicing moderation and following these ten tips, you too can be a “long-liver” and, more importantly, enjoy your elder hood in the process.

You heard right. All you can eat. And it’s not a gimmick. How can that be? All you can eat diet? No diet is all you can eat? Well you are right, and wrong. No starvation or quick fix theme diet, is ever going to be an all you can eat diet. And we all know there is no pill or powder that allows you to eat anything you want and still lose weight. So, what exactly is an ALL YOU CAN EAT DIET?

Let me start off by saying; If you are not already familiar with “CATHERINE’S WORLD FAMOUS RECIPES”, it is probably because, up until now I have only posted one other, and that would be CATHERINE’S WORLD FAMOUS FETTUCCINE ALFREDO RECIPE. Since you probably are not familiar with my WORLD FAMOUS RECIPES, let me just tell you a few things up front.

CATHERINE’S WORLD FAMOUS FETTUCCINE ALFREDO RECIPE — by Catherine Morgan

I know this recipe goes against all the things I have been saying about eating healthy. Because, I think it is an actual fact, that Fettuccine Alfredo is the worst food you can eat, as far as, fat, carbs, cholesterol, calories, and that stuff goes. I’m only giving this “TOP-SECRET” recipe out because; with it being winter, the kids really like their “comfort foods”, and this is the one my kids LOVE. For us adults, not a good idea to eat as a meal, but it does make a nice side dish.